After Effects | Workshop 2

Notes from workshop 2.

Including: altering keyframe speed, preparing photoshop assets, exporting ae files...


To alter speed of all animated key frames

• Press 'U' to reveal all animated properties of shapes

• Click and drag to select all layers in bottom left panel
• Click on either the start or end key frame in the sequence whilst holding alt

• Drag to move all of them at once, maintaining synchronisation between all shapes/elements. Drag inward to increase speed, outward to decrease

How to prepare assets in Photoshop for them to work in After Effects

• Photoshop > File > New >Document type: Film & Video presets

        Left: For brief                      Right: For this workshop

• After Effects only works with RGB colour mode

• New document brings up guidelines, similar to those on an After Effects composition. Refers to an action safe zone, which reminds you to keep anything of significance within those rectangles.

• When you are ready to import your .psd files into AE, put them together in a folder and save the After Effects project in the same place.

• File > Import > File > select image/file. You then see the  import options:

• Importing something as footage is the most simple way to import it. It will occupy its own layer in the composition.

• Add photos to composition by clicking a dragging them from the layers / project panel to the timeline (this places the object in the middle of page)

Importing Compositions with Layers

• File > Import > Import Kind: Composition

• Will appear as a folder in the project panel on the left, with the name of the photoshop file as well as all of the layers retained in the folder. (See image below...)

• It is split into a composition of its own, where all of the layers merge into one image. As well as a folder containing all of the separate layers.

How to export After Effects files

Save in same location as photoshop assets to keep them together

• Composition > Add to Render Queue > A new tab will appear with render settings

• Best settings > Length of comp/work area only > OK

• Lossless > Format is QuickTime > Format options > Video codec > H.264

• Output To: [name of file] > Name of file, and where it will be saved

• Click Render button at top right of Render Queue bar